When a Duke Says I Do

Despite improbable twists and turns, Goodger’s Regency debut abounds with quiet charm. For Miss Elizabeth Stanhope it’s a delightful coincidence that a renowned painter and his young, handsome, mute assistant, Alexander, seem able to intuit her wishes for the mural they’re painting in her ballroom. It must be finished in time for Elsie’s 22nd birthday ball, when her engagement to a wealthy duke’s son will be announced, so the artists work day and night. One evening, insomniac Elsie, wanders into the ballroom and learns that the real genius behind the mural is Alexander. Elsie captivates him with her beauty and naïveté, and they fall in love. The only obstacles to their happiness are class differences, her betrothal, and a host of stock antagonists and coincidences that loosen the novel’s tenuous grip on the reader’s credulity. (Dec.)